Chronicle of a Croydon Boy

I have a bit of a lower back problem today. Every so often something 'clicks' at the end of my spine. It is something I just have ...

Very sorry about the noisy traffic but that's life nowadays, wherever you live! Kelso Abbey would have been ab fab in days of yore. Star...

This is a short stroll through my untidy little back garden and to the east gates of Mellerstain House. Their gardens are much better kept t...

It is such a glorious day today I decided to wander around Mellerstain. Gordon Low, the gardener, was making out he was working. Ha! The Bum...

This is a monologue by the late, great Lord Bernard Miles. He was a much-loved actor and all-round jolly good chap. I was lucky enough to ...

The river Tweed runs through the Scottish Borders down to Berwick on Tweed. Once the most disputed border town in the UK. Berwick on Tweed i...

You know, of course, that the film director, Alfie Hitchcock, liked to appear at some point in his movies. So why not me? I am the producer,...

It's the late 1970s. I am travelling daily from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, to Fenchurch Street rail station and then walking to Custom Hous...

Today, Saturday 5th September 2009, we drove to the nearby town of Kelso to do a spot of basic shopping. Forgot that the annual St. James...

Poor old Hermes has stood here in Mellerstain for many decades, in all weathers, uncomplaining. Faithfully watching the southern aspect of ...

After taking up my post as security-caretaker/tour-guide at Mellerstain many hours were spent learning and discovering everything I could ab...

The front of Mellerstain House looks north. An expanse of parkland and a good variety of old trees create a peaceful panorama when viewed fr...

Stephen Fry had a thirty minute program on BBC Radio4 a few days ago, all about 'Hello'. I like Mr. Fry; he's an entertaining er...

Took a snap video of the formal gardens at Mellerstain. It is a blustery and dampish day and the noise of the wind in the mike is unavoidabl...

I went for a walk around Mellerstain House this afternoon with my new toy, a Flip video thingy. After traipsing all round the main gardens, ...

This is my favourite song. I discovered it just a few years ago. Jacques Brel puts so much pure emotion into this version it really gets t...

Click on the above photos to enlarge. I took the above two snapshots on a beautiful Sunday in August 1955. All the RAF personnel at Bruggen...

Mellerstain house Planting a Hornbeam tree. Planting a tree in recognition of the work of volunteers working for Guide Dogs of the Blind in ...

My only grumble about this cottage is the amount of grass cutting I have to attend to. This shot is of our 'front' garden. I have an...

On the 14th December 1995 Lord Haddington's mother, the Dowager Countess, Lady Sarah Haddington, died. She was a few months short of 10...